New Bancroft business owner Jeremy Lloyd has been around cars for as long as he can remember. He said he was “born and raised in the car business.” His father was a GM dealer from the time he was three years old.

“So I’m always going to be a GM guy,” he joked. Though he said it’s hard to pick a favourite dealer when he’s sold cars across the province including from Bancroft Motors and out of Pembroke. He said the make and model are all about what’s best for the customer.

“I’ve just always been in the car business,” he said. “It’s what I know, what I love and I wouldn’t do anything else.”

It’s that kind of experience and passion that’s helped Lloyd and his wife, Shawn, develop the business model for Auto Nexus — Bancroft’s newest auto retailer. The used car dealership opened up May 1 and has already closed nearly a dozen deals.

Lloyd said the business focuses on alleviating administration costs and eradicating used car salesman stigmas.

Lloyd said he aims to stand out as a new dealer in the area.

“The evidence is in the satisfaction the customers have at the end of the transaction,” he said. “All the little hidden fees that happen on the bill of sale are what upset people the most, and we want to eliminate that.”

The Lloyds dreamed up Auto Nexus when they were ready to own their own business. Jeremy said he’d been in roles of responsibility at other dealerships but he looked forward to “being able to look at the business from every angle.”

“It makes the day go by a lot quicker,” he said. “We already felt like we have been owners in the past with the positions I held — so to me it was just a continuation of the responsibility to get the store up and running, make sure everyone is happy and taken care of as far as staff goes and build a bright business with a bright future.”

Lloyd said it’s important those looking for a car know they have a connection to the auto world through his business. While Auto Nexus is looking to grow its inventory to 50 to 75 units as the months go on, it will also help customers search out what they want if they can’t find it on the lot.

“We want to keep prices low for the local area so they don’t have to travel around the province trying to find better prices and just be here to support them afterwards as well,” he said. “The idea that it’s cheaper out of town is something we want to address.”

He added, “We want them to feel that we’re their ambassador, not just their car salesperson.”

Lloyd is also trying to attract business from out of town. Something, he said, that is already happening. That’s good because he said he’s planning to be around for a while.

“This is going to be it. When my wife and I designed the ideas behind the company and what we were going to do in the used car business we had plans of opening other stores in other locations over the next few years,” he said. “We definitely want Auto Nexus to be a long-term plan.”

Currently, Auto Nexus employs six staff with hopes of having another six people in its car detailing department. Lloyd said staff would depend on how business goes, but as for right now, with opening just in time for the spring market, it’s booming.

More than 30 Bancroft residents ran their water in a stream the thickness of a pencil over the course of this winter to stop their pipes from freezing, according to the town’s CAO Hazel Lambe. It’s a problem she suggests dates back approximately 30 years.

The committee discussed the ongoing homelessness study underway in Hastings County, including the Bancroft area. And later: New permanent OPP Staff Sergeant arrives in June & Ontario to mandate safety committees.